text: At MerleFest, the glass, red plastic cup, coffee mug or Mason jar is always half full. Making sure the glass stays half full, the presenters of MerleFest provide music industry award winning performers as well as musicians with the skills to win the hearts of fans, generation after generation. On Thursday and Friday, artists the likes of Del McCoury, Rhonda Vincent, Charlie Daniels, Peter Rowan, Sam Bush, Steep Canyon Rangers, Tara Nevins and Friends, Donna the Buffalo and Gov't Mule helped MerleFest get off to a hot start, Saturday and Sunday offer equally great times but the rumors of rain are starting to be heard.MerleFest happens only once a year and we all have a finite number of years to enjoy on this planet so with these two facts in mind, are you going to let a little water and mud deprive yourself of a wonderful time ? Clothes and tents dry out, vehicles can get pulled out of the mud and sniffles only last a week or two but cheating yourself out of time well spent at MerleFest may result in a lifetime of regret and second guessing. You know Doc and Merle Watson want you out, about and enjoying yourself.


text:
When TalkBack is turned on, focus does not move correctly.
When TalkBack is set to On, the focus (selection box) may not work correctly.
In this case, use Screen reader instead of TalkBack.
Perform the following procedure.
- Press the HOME button on the remote.
- Select Settings.
- Select Accessibility in the System Preferences category.
- Select Services.
- Select Screen reader, then set to On.
- Select TalkBack, then set State to Off.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Oxytocin: refs I get a kick out of you
Scientists are finding that, after all, love really is down to a chemical addiction between peopleOVER the course of history it has been artists, poets and playwrights who have made the greatest progress in humanity's understanding of love. Romance has seemed as inexplicable as the beauty of a rainbow. But these days scientists are challenging that notion, and they have rather a lot to say about how and why people love each other.
Is this useful? The scientists think so. For a start, understanding the neurochemical pathways that regulate social attachments may help to deal with defects in people's ability to form relationships. All relationships, whether they are those of parents with their children, spouses with their partners, or workers with their colleagues, rely on an ability to create and maintain social ties. Defects can be disabling, and become apparent as disorders such as autism and schizophrenia — and, indeed, as the serious depression that can result from rejection in love. Research is also shedding light on some of the more extreme forms of sexual behaviour. And, controversially, some utopian fringe groups see such work as the doorway to a future where love is guaranteed because it will be provided chemically, or even genetically engineered from conception.
The scientific tale of love begins innocently enough, with voles. The prairie vole is a sociable creature, one of the only 3% of mammal species that appear to form monogamous relationships. Mating between prairie voles is a tremendous 24-hour effort. After this, they bond for life. They prefer to spend time with each other, groom each other for hours on end and nest together. They avoid meeting other potential mates. The male becomes an aggressive guard of the female. And when their pups are born, they become affectionate and attentive parents. However, another vole, a close relative called the montane vole, has no interest in partnership beyond one-night-stand sex. What is intriguing is that these vast differences in behaviour are the result of a mere handful of genes. The two vole species are more than 99% alike, genetically.
Why do voles fall in love?
The details of what is going on — the vole story, as it were — is a fascinating one. When prairie voles have sex, two hormones called oxytocin and vasopressin are released. If the release of these hormones is blocked, prairie-voles' sex becomes a fleeting affair, like that normally enjoyed by their rakish montane cousins. Conversely, if prairie voles are given an injection of the hormones, but prevented from having sex, they will still form a preference for their chosen partner. In other words, researchers can make prairie voles fall in love — or whatever the vole equivalent of this is — with an injection.A clue to what is happening — and how these results might bear on the human condition — was found when this magic juice was given to the montane vole: it made no difference. It turns out that the faithful prairie vole has receptors for oxytocin and vasopressin in brain regions associated with reward and reinforcement, whereas the montane vole does not. The question is, do humans (another species in the 3% of allegedly monogamous mammals) have brains similar to prairie voles?
To answer that question you need to dig a little deeper. As Larry Young, a researcher into social attachment at Emory University, in Atlanta, Georgia, explains, the brain has a reward system designed to make voles (and people and other animals) do what they ought to. Without it, they might forget to eat, drink and have sex — with disastrous results. That animals continue to do these things is because they make them feel good. And they feel good because of the release of a chemical called dopamine into the brain. Sure enough, when a female prairie vole mates, there is a 50% increase in the level of dopamine in the reward centre of her brain.
Similarly, when a male rat has sex it feels good to him because of the dopamine. He learns that sex is enjoyable, and seeks out more of it based on how it happened the first time. But, in contrast to the prairie vole, at no time do rats learn to associate sex with a particular female. Rats are not monogamous.
This is where the vasopressin and oxytocin come in. They are involved in parts of the brain that help to pick out the salient features used to identify individuals. If the gene for oxytocin is knocked out of a mouse before birth, that mouse will become a social amnesiac and have no memory of the other mice it meets. The same is true if the vasopressin gene is knocked out.
The salient feature in this case is odour. Rats, mice and voles recognise each other by smell. Christie Fowler and her colleagues at Florida State University have found that exposure to the opposite sex generates new nerve cells in the brains of prairie voles — in particular in areas important to olfactory memory. Could it be that prairie voles form an olfactory "image" of their partners — the rodent equivalent of remembering a personality — and this becomes linked with pleasure?
Dr Young and his colleagues suggest this idea in an article published last month in the Journal of Comparative Neurology. They argue that prairie voles become addicted to each other through a process of sexual imprinting mediated by odour. Furthermore, they suggest that the reward mechanism involved in this addiction has probably evolved in a similar way in other monogamous animals, humans included, to regulate pair-bonding in them as well.
You might as well face it...
Sex stimulates the release of vasopressin and oxytocin in people, as well as voles, though the role of these hormones in the human brain is not yet well understood. But while it is unlikely that people have a mental, smell-based map of their partners in the way that voles do, there are strong hints that the hormone pair have something to reveal about the nature of human love: among those of Man's fellow primates that have been studied, monogamous marmosets have higher levels of vasopressin bound in the reward centres of their brains than do non-monogamous rhesus macaques.Other approaches are also shedding light on the question. In 2000, Andreas Bartels and Semir Zeki of University College, London, located the areas of the brain activated by romantic love. They took students who said they were madly in love, put them into a brain scanner, and looked at their patterns of brain activity.
The results were surprising. For a start, a relatively small area of the human brain is active in love, compared with that involved in, say, ordinary friendship. "It is fascinating to reflect", the pair conclude, "that the face that launched a thousand ships should have done so through such a limited expanse of cortex." The second surprise was that the brain areas active in love are different from the areas activated in other emotional states, such as fear and anger. Parts of the brain that are love-bitten include the one responsible for gut feelings, and the ones which generate the euphoria induced by drugs such as cocaine. So the brains of people deeply in love do not look like those of people experiencing strong emotions, but instead like those of people snorting coke. Love, in other words, uses the neural mechanisms that are activated during the process of addiction. "We are literally addicted to love," Dr Young observes. Like the prairie voles.
It seems possible, then, that animals which form strong social bonds do so because of the location of their receptors for vasopressin and oxytocin. Evolution acts on the distribution of these receptors to generate social or non-social versions of a vole. The more receptors located in regions associated with reward, the more rewarding social interactions become. Social groups, and society itself, rely ultimately on these receptors. But for evolution to be able to act, there must be individual variation between mice, and between men. And this has interesting implications.
Last year, Steven Phelps, who works at Emory with Dr Young, found great diversity in the distribution of vasopressin receptors between individual prairie voles. He suggests that this variation contributes to individual differences in social behaviour — in other words, some voles will be more faithful than others. Meanwhile, Dr Young says that he and his colleagues have found a lot of variation in the vasopressin-receptor gene in humans. "We may be able to do things like look at their gene sequence, look at their promoter sequence, to genotype people and correlate that with their fidelity," he muses.
It has already proved possible to tinker with this genetic inheritance, with startling results. Scientists can increase the expression of the relevant receptors in prairie voles, and thus strengthen the animals' ability to attach to partners. And in 1999, Dr Young led a team that took the prairie-vole receptor gene and inserted it into an ordinary (and therefore promiscuous) mouse. The transgenic mouse thus created was much more sociable to its mate.
Love, love me do
Scanning the brains of people in love is also helping to refine science's grasp of love's various forms. Helen Fisher, a researcher at Rutgers University, and the author of a new book on love*, suggests it comes in three flavours: lust, romantic love and long-term attachment. There is some overlap but, in essence, these are separate phenomena, with their own emotional and motivational systems, and accompanying chemicals. These systems have evolved to enable, respectively, mating, pair-bonding and parenting.Lust, of course, involves a craving for sex. Jim Pfaus, a psychologist at Concordia University, in Montreal, says the aftermath of lustful sex is similar to the state induced by taking opiates. A heady mix of chemical changes occurs, including increases in the levels of serotonin, oxytocin, vasopressin and endogenous opioids (the body's natural equivalent of heroin). "This may serve many functions, to relax the body, induce pleasure and satiety, and perhaps induce bonding to the very features that one has just experienced all this with", says Dr Pfaus.
Then there is attraction, or the state of being in love (what is sometimes known as romantic or obsessive love). This is a refinement of mere lust that allows people to home in on a particular mate. This state is characterised by feelings of exhilaration, and intrusive, obsessive thoughts about the object of one's affection. Some researchers suggest this mental state might share neurochemical characteristics with the manic phase of manic depression. Dr Fisher's work, however, suggests that the actual behavioural patterns of those in love — such as attempting to evoke reciprocal responses in one's loved one — resemble obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).
That raises the question of whether it is possible to "treat" this romantic state clinically, as can be done with OCD. The parents of any love-besotted teenager might want to know the answer to that. Dr Fisher suggests it might, indeed, be possible to inhibit feelings of romantic love, but only at its early stages. OCD is characterised by low levels of a chemical called serotonin. Drugs such as Prozac work by keeping serotonin hanging around in the brain for longer than normal, so they might stave off romantic feelings. (This also means that people taking anti-depressants may be jeopardising their ability to fall in love.) But once romantic love begins in earnest, it is one of the strongest drives on Earth. Dr Fisher says it seems to be more powerful than hunger. A little serotonin would be unlikely to stifle it.
Wonderful though it is, romantic love is unstable — not a good basis for child-rearing. But the final stage of love, long-term attachment, allows parents to co-operate in raising children. This state, says Dr Fisher, is characterised by feelings of calm, security, social comfort and emotional union.
Because they are independent, these three systems can work simultaneously — with dangerous results. As Dr Fisher explains, "you can feel deep attachment for a long-term spouse, while you feel romantic love for someone else, while you feel the sex drive in situations unrelated to either partner." This independence means it is possible to love more than one person at a time, a situation that leads to jealousy, adultery and divorce — though also to the possibilities of promiscuity and polygamy, with the likelihood of extra children, and thus a bigger stake in the genetic future, that those behaviours bring. As Dr Fisher observes, "We were not built to be happy but to reproduce."
The stages of love vary somewhat between the sexes. Lust, for example, is aroused more easily in men by visual stimuli than is the case for women. This is probably why visual pornography is more popular with men. And although both men and women express romantic love with the same intensity, and are attracted to partners who are dependable, kind, healthy, smart and educated, there are some notable differences in their choices. Men are more attracted to youth and beauty, while women are more attracted to money, education and position. When an older, ugly man is seen walking down the road arm-in-arm with a young and beautiful woman, most people assume the man is rich or powerful.
These foolish things
Of course, love is about more than just genes. Cultural and social factors, and learning, play big roles. Who and how a person has loved in the past are important determinants of his (or her) capacity to fall in love at any given moment in the future. This is because animals — people included — learn from their sexual and social experiences. Arousal comes naturally. But long-term success in mating requires a change from being naive about this state to knowing the precise factors that lead from arousal to the rewards of sex, love and attachment. For some humans, this may involve flowers, chocolate and sweet words. But these things are learnt.If humans become conditioned by their experiences, this may be the reason why some people tend to date the same "type" of partner over and over again. Researchers think humans develop a "love map" as they grow up—a blueprint that contains the many things that they have learnt are attractive. This inner scorecard is something that people use to rate the suitability of mates. Yet the idea that humans are actually born with a particular type of "soul mate" wired into their desires is wrong. Research on the choices of partner made by identical twins suggests that the development of love maps takes time, and has a strong random component.
Work on rats is leading researchers such as Dr Pfaus to wonder whether the template of features found attractive by an individual is formed during a critical period of sexual-behaviour development. He says that even in animals that are not supposed to pair-bond, such as rats, these features may get fixed with the experience of sexual reward. Rats can be conditioned to prefer particular types of partner — for example by pairing sexual reward with some kind of cue, such as lemon-scented members of the opposite sex. This work may help the understanding of unusual sexual preferences. Human fetishes, for example, develop early, and are almost impossible to change. The fetishist connects objects such as feet, shoes, stuffed toys and even balloons, that have a visual association with childhood sexual experiences, to sexual gratification.
So love, in all its glory, is just, it seems, a chemical state with genetic roots and environmental influences. But all this work leads to other questions. If scientists can make a more sociable mouse, might it be possible to create a more sociable human? And what about a more loving one? A few people even think that "paradise-engineering", dedicated to abolishing the "biological substrates of human suffering", is rather a good idea.
As time goes by
Progress in predicting the outcome of relationships, and information about the genetic roots of fidelity, might also make proposing marriage more like a job application — with associated medical, genetic and psychological checks. If it were reliable enough, would insurers cover you for divorce? And as brain scanners become cheaper and more widely available, they might go from being research tools to something that anyone could use to find out how well they were loved. Will the future bring answers to questions such as: Does your partner really love you? Is your husband lusting after the au pair?And then there are drugs. Despite Dr Fisher's reservations, might they also help people to fall in love, or perhaps fix broken relationships? Probably not. Dr Pfaus says that drugs may enhance portions of the "love experience" but fall short of doing the whole job because of their specificity. And if a couple fall out of love, drugs are unlikely to help either. Dr Fisher does not believe that the brain could overlook distaste for someone — even if a couple in trouble could inject themselves with huge amounts of dopamine.
However, she does think that administering serotonin can help someone get over a bad love affair faster. She also suggests it is possible to trick the brain into feeling romantic love in a long-term relationship by doing novel things with your partner. Any arousing activity drives up the level of dopamine and can therefore trigger feelings of romance as a side effect. This is why holidays can rekindle passion. Romantics, of course, have always known that love is a special sort of chemistry. Scientists are now beginning to show how true this is.
* "Why We Love: The Nature and Chemistry of Romantic Love", by Helen Fisher. Henry Holt and Company, New York.
Love hormone
Cuddle hormone
The power of love
Facial recognition
Liquid Trust Spray
Oxytocin and voles
Oxytocin and drugs
Oxytocin: structure
Oxytocin and women
Oxytocin and estradiol
Oxytocin and addiction
Hyper-reactive HPA rats
The evolution of emotion
Oxytocin and social phobia
Oxytocin and social interaction
Can oxytocin treat mental illness?HOME
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Sensualism . com
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Wirehead Hedonism
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The Hedonistic Imperative
MDMA: Utopian Pharmacology
Critique of Huxley's Brave New World


text:
Houston Chamber of Commerce
The Benefits Of Launching A Business in Houston Texas
Houston is known as one of the most affordable cities in America. But what does that mean for entrepreneurs looking to start a business there?
The cost of living in Houston is relatively low compared to many big cities across America. It's not cheap. While some people can find work in the oil sector, others have difficulty finding jobs outside of that industry.
Houston ( (listen); HEW-stən) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in 2020. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the seat and largest city of Harris County and the principal city of the Greater Houston metropolitan area, which is the fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical area in the United States and the second-most populous in Texas after Dallas–Fort Worth. Houston is the southeast anchor of the greater megaregion known as the Texas Triangle.Comprising a land area of 640.4 square miles (1,659 km2), Houston is the ninth-most expansive city in the United States (including consolidated city-counties). It is the largest city in the United States by total area whose government is not consolidated with a county, parish, or borough. Though primarily in Harris County, small portions of the city extend into Fort Bend and Montgomery counties, bordering other principal communities of Greater Houston such as Sugar Land and The Woodlands.
Boulevard Oaks, Braeburn, Braeswood Place, Briarforest, Brooke Smith, Carverdale, Central Northwest, Central Southwest, Cloverland, East Little York / Homestead, El Dorado/ Oates Prarie, First Ward, Fondren Gardens, Fort Bend Houston, Fourth Ward


text:
Related links:
NASA Feels Strain of Budget Cuts
News story originally written on July 28, 1999
The United States House of Representatives will cut NASA's budget. The program will lose $1.3 billion next year. Here are some quotes from NASA Administrator Dan Goldin about the cut.
"The NASA team just launched Chandra, the world's most powerful space telescope. Today, we will have to turn it back on Washington to see what remains of the NASA budget."
"The NASA employees get up every day to achieve what most think is impossible. They have risen to the challenge of smaller budgets. And this is the reward the NASA team gets?"
Goldin says even the new Deep Impact mission is in trouble.
"This cut destroys the technology base built by NASA," Goldin
said. "Perhaps most sadly, we will lose the opportunity to inspire a future generation of children. I won't feel better until every nickel is restored."


text:
- Home
- Departments
- Recreation
- About Us
- Comprehensive Recreation, Parks, and Open Space Plan
Create a Website Account - Manage notification subscriptions, save form progress and more.
As part of the 2010 Comprehensive Parks, Recreation and Open Space Plan, numerous
strategies have been considered as to how to best further enhance policies, professional services
and facilities. Many ideas have been discussed among the project's Study Committee,
community residents, recreation organization representatives, the Municipality's Parks and
Recreation Commission, Municipality Staff as well as community officials. The purpose of this
Plan is to provide a guideline for the Municipality's Council. This document seeks to outline
recommendations which are practical and achievable within the next ten (10) years.
VIEW AND DOWNLOAD THE PLAN: 2010 Comprehensive Parks, Recreation and Open Space Plan


text:
Flyers' scenarios tonight
Wednesday night's lone Game 7 was a dramatic tease for the Flyers, who are salivating to learn their next opponent for the second round.
Washington's surprising overtime road win, knocking off the defending Stanley Cup champs in Boston, gave the Flyers two valuable pieces of information:
1. Boston is no longer a possible opponent. (Duh)
2. The Flyers cannot face the New York Rangers in the second round, even if they beat the Senators in Game 7 on Thursday night.
After breathing a small sigh of relief, not having to face the team they've lost 8 straight games to over the last two seasons until at least the Conference Final, there are still vast possibilities.
Even with one out of three Game 7's in the books, the Flyers can still face four different opponents in the second round – and the earliest they will know their fate is 11 o'clock on Thursday night.
Only one scenario, in Florida, would require the Flyers to open on the road over the weekend. Amazingly, the Flyers – as a No. 5 seed - would host any of the other three remaining teams.
Here are the scenarios to watch:
If NYR & FLA win – Flyers face Florida (5 vs. 3)
If NYR & NJD win – Flyers face New Jersey (5 vs. 6)
If OTT & FLA win – Flyers face Washington (5 vs. 7)
If OTT & NJD win – Flyers face Ottawa (5 vs. 8)
If both the Devils and Senators win, the Flyers would have home-ice advantage in each of the next two rounds.
For the record, if the two favorites (Rangers -170, Devils -120) are to win, the Flyers would face the Devils in the second round. New Jersey finally broke a five-game losing streak when facing elimination on Tuesday night. Florida is the home underdog for Game 7.
Here are the game times:
Ottawa at N.Y. Rangers – 7:00 p.m. – Madison Square Garden – NBC Sports Network
New Jersey at Florida – 8:30 p.m. – Bank Atlantic Center – NHL Network, joined in-progress on NBC Sports Nework
For the latest updates, follow Frank Seravalli on Twitter: @DNFlyers


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A place where people can discuss chick lit books, read reviews, meet authors and win books!
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Walking barefoot with Rachel Berstche....plus a book giveaway
Late last year, I reviewed Rachel Berstshe's book, MWF Seeking BFF. Today, I have the privilege of giving our readers a chance to get to know her better. Rachel is a Chicago native who, in addition to her books, has written for a variety of publication including: New York Times Magazine, O, The Oprah Magazine, Marie Claire, More, Teen Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Seventeen, Every Day with Rachael Ray, Fitness, Women's Health, New York, Huffington Post and CNN.com. She was also a former producer for Oprah.com and an editor at O, The Oprah Magazine.
We are thrilled to have Rachel join us today to kick off our "Summertime Fun" theme, and thanks to Random House we're celebrating her visit by giving away FIVE copies of her recently released memoir, Jennifer, Gwyneth & Me: The Pursuit of Happiness, One Celebrity at a Time, to some lucky US readers!
What woman hasn't seen pictures of Jennifer Aniston, Gwyneth Paltrow, or Beyoncé and wished she had their clothes, their abs, their seemingly flawless lives? For Rachel Bertsche, these celebrities are the epitome of perfection—self-assured and effortlessly cool. Yet lately, between juggling her career, her marriage, and her dream of becoming a mother, Bertsche feels anything but put together.
In Jennifer, Gwyneth & Me, Bertsche embarks on a quest to emulate her Hollywood role models—while sticking to a budget—to see if they really hold the keys to happiness. While trying to unlock the stars' secrets, from Sarah Jessica Parker's wardrobe to Julia Roberts's sense of calm to—maybe one day—Jessica Alba's chic pregnancy, Bertsche learns valuable lessons. A toned body doesn't come easy or cheap, avoiding social media can do wonders for your peace of mind, and confidence is the key to pulling off any outfit. But can she immerse herself in the A-list lifestyle and still stay true to herself? And will her pursuit of perfection really lead to happiness? (Courtesy of Amazon.)
Visit Rachel at her blog, Facebook, and Twitter.
Favorite summertime tradition:
Our annual trip to Cape Cod for July 4th. My mother-in-law lives on the Cape and every year we travel there for the holiday weekend, with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law and my two nephews. We eat lobster and grilled corn and I do nothing but go for outdoor runs and read books on the porch. That weekend feels like summer in a way the season hasn't since I was a kid.
Of all the summer memories you have as a child, which sticks out most?
Summer camp! I went to camp for eight weeks for nine summers -- from when I was 8 years old to 16 years old. I'm still a little bit obsessed with camp. If they'd let me, I'd still be going back.
When I think of summer, the first thing that pops into my mind is:
Camp, again, or that July 4 trip. To me, summer is about reading, relaxing and spending time with the people you love, so the vacations and experiences shape the season for me.
What song reminds you of summertime and why?
The first song that pops into my head is "Summertime" by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, which speaks to my love of all things 1990s.
One of my summertime guilty pleasures is:
This isn't that guilty, but I love nothing more than walking barefoot through grass in the summertime. I just love, love, love the way it feels on my feet and makes me feel like a kid again. Also, white wine, Stacy's pita chips, and cheese.
Favorite summer outfit:
Sundress! I wait nine long months for the sundress.
Thanks to Rachel for chatting with us and Random House for sharing her book with our readers!
~Introduction and interview by Tracey Meyers
How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
US only. Giveaway ends July 6th at midnight EST.
41 comments:
- Janine said...
I don't know what we will be doing on the 4th. It's supposed to start raining tonight and we have chances for more all the way through Friday. We watched fireworks last Friday night in the town next to us.
- July 1, 2014 at 8:08 AM
We're spending the weekend at the lake with friends!
- July 1, 2014 at 8:18 AM
- Unknown said...
Watching fireworks with my family...bar b q with the in-laws...just chilling. :)
- July 1, 2014 at 8:27 AM
- susieqlaw said...
Celebrating the 4th of July and 4 family 4th of July birthdays!
- July 1, 2014 at 9:15 AM
- rhonda said...
Annual street barbecue so much fun,
- July 1, 2014 at 9:21 AM
- Mary Mac said...
I will be working Friday thru Sunday this weekend but will enjoy all of next week off.
- July 1, 2014 at 9:48 AM
- Robin Driscoll said...
Just BBQ at home with immediate family, reading and relaxing.
- July 1, 2014 at 10:24 AM
This book sounds right up my alley. Just a backyard cookout with family for me this 4th.
- July 1, 2014 at 10:36 AM
- Suzanne said...
Headed to KC to celebrate our son's best friend's Bar-Mitzvah!!
- July 1, 2014 at 11:20 AM
Grilling and fireworks.
- July 1, 2014 at 11:45 AM
- Unknown said...
I'll be enjoying the extra day off from work watching movies with family, trying to catch up on some reading, and grilling dinner.
- July 1, 2014 at 12:11 PM
- jpetroroy said...
- July 1, 2014 at 2:05 PM
- JJT said...
- July 1, 2014 at 3:20 PM
Unfortunately I have to work all day:( - July 1, 2014 at 3:37 PM
- Tami said...
I am working but afterwards I'd like to sit on the deck and enjoy a frosty beverage and a good book!
- July 1, 2014 at 3:58 PM
- Nina B said...
Yay for Rachel's new book! This year for the 4th it's parade + time at the in-law's cabin + fireworks.
- July 1, 2014 at 4:18 PM
- Unknown said...
We will be staying home and grilling a traditional 4th of July meal. There is a parade in the morning that we will attend and fireworks we can watch from our patio with friends.
- July 1, 2014 at 4:19 PM
- Melanie Backus said...
On Friday, we will be spending our time with family having hotdogs and banana pudding for dessert. We will take in a local fireworks show later in the evening. A great time will be had by all.
mauback55 at gmail dot com - July 1, 2014 at 4:26 PM
- jennifer.essad said...
we're staying home and having a family bbq
- July 1, 2014 at 5:04 PM
- Lisamarie said...
We are celebrating with our entire family! First time in like 5yrs...usually were all going in different directions but now that our kids are older we are in one spot plus my niece is coming home from Taiwan!
- July 1, 2014 at 5:25 PM
- jodi marinich said...
hanging out with my family
- July 1, 2014 at 5:29 PM
- Carl Scott said...
I'll be chillin' on the 4th. Waiting for guests to arrive probably do a little grilling too. Thanks
- July 1, 2014 at 6:27 PM
- Anita Yancey said...
We will probably just go to see the fireworks. Thanks for having the giveaway.
- July 1, 2014 at 7:04 PM
- Mary Jo Burke said...
Read, my kids have to work.
- July 1, 2014 at 8:06 PM
- rubynreba said...
Watch fireworks and relax!
pbclark(at)netins(dot)net - July 1, 2014 at 8:10 PM
- Linda Kish said...
I watch fireworks on TV...way less crowded.
- July 1, 2014 at 9:23 PM
We are relaxing and spending time together: kids will be with friends!
- July 2, 2014 at 8:56 AM
maybe a BBQ
- July 2, 2014 at 10:33 AM
- Viv V. said...
This 4th, I am just going to be relaxing and reading in the warm sunshine with my best friend and service dog, Bliss (a black lab who is a greater sun-worshipper than I am!).
- July 2, 2014 at 11:03 AM
- Angel Wells said...
I have to work on the 4th so not much for me😢
- July 2, 2014 at 11:06 AM
- AiringMyLaundry said...
We are going to a little fair type thing for the 4th of July.
- July 2, 2014 at 1:02 PM
Just hanging out with the family!
- July 2, 2014 at 4:26 PM
- Margie said...
We'll be grilling and watching fireworks somewhere.
mtakala1 AT yahoo DOT com - July 2, 2014 at 8:40 PM
- Patricia said...
Spending time with our family ---
- July 2, 2014 at 11:51 PM
- winemama said...
a cookout with my family at the park
- July 3, 2014 at 3:18 PM
- Nova said...
We are going to be going over to a friend's house for a cook-out. So it will be fun, food, friends & family.
- July 3, 2014 at 4:57 PM
- Unknown said...
Going to a neighborhood BBQ Thursday night (tonight), then going to the city carnival tomorrow and watching the fireworks tomorrow night!
- July 3, 2014 at 6:02 PM
- Unknown said...
We had a very quiet 4th, just a small family cook out. Need to up it up a couple notches next year!
- July 5, 2014 at 11:53 AM
- Mrs Mommy Booknerd said...
We hang out in Door County Wisconsin for the 4th!
- July 6, 2014 at 11:44 AM
- Jeryl M. said...
We had friends over for a barbeque.
- July 6, 2014 at 4:26 PM
Recovering from a double hernia surgery! Gawds!
- July 6, 2014 at 5:36 PM


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Florida Business Profile
Julie Young is a Principal Entrepreneur
How a restless assistant principal built the nation's leading online public school.
Heady Company: A trade publication named Florida Virtual President and CEO Julie Young, along with Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, a "top 30 influencer" in education technology. She chairs the United States Distance Learning Association. For the past two years, the Center for Digital Education named Florida and Florida Virtual the top virtual education provider in the nation. [Photo: Brook Pifer] |
Like a dot-com founder whose company never went bust, Julie Young has steered an internet-based growth rocket for 15 years. Since creating the first state online school — the proverbial "first mover advantage" in investing lingo — she's parlayed it into a $120-million-a-year operation that's among the nation's largest K-12 schools, with so many students that it's bigger than 41 of the state's 67 geographically defined districts.
And after all that growth, Young and Florida Virtual School may just be getting started. Her operation enrolled more than 120,000 Florida students in 2010-11 in more than 110 courses, from driver's education to Advanced Placement Art History.
Florida Virtual has even developed a global brand, with students in 49 states and 46 countries taking classes. This year, Young inked a revenue-sharing deal with textbook publisher Pearson to sell Florida Virtual's courses nationally as "Pearson Virtual Learning Powered by Florida Virtual School."
Former Gov. Jeb Bush, who encouraged the online school initiative, says Young has created "by far and away, the largest government-sponsored virtual school, many, many fold."
Not bad for someone who didn't even know she was an entrepreneur until she had been one for several years.
"We made the decision that if something wasn't working, we were not going to wait to the next school year to change it," says Julie Young, with staff members. [Photo: Brook Pifer] |
Administrators - 78 Non-instructional - 233 Full-time teachers - 1,035 Adjunct teachers - 69 Total - 1,415 |
She cut her technology teeth on Apple IIe and EduQuest machines, crawling under desks, running wires. When, as an assistant principal, she followed her husband to his new job in Orlando, Young was approached by Orange County school administrators in 1997 to lead that county's share of a $200,000 state "Break the Mold" grant to establish the school that grew into Florida Virtual.
It was an auspicious time for the venture in Florida. Then-Education Commissioner Frank Brogan (later lieutenant governor and now State University System chancellor) was keen on the project, as was Bush, who became governor two years later and made education reform the hallmark of his career. Bush says he encouraged Young to "think big." She did.
Key strategic decisions helped. Brogan saw in emerging digital education a good fit with a need to reach underserved students in innovative ways. Young praises Brogan for eliminating roadblocks and for the foresight to get the Legislature to initially fund Florida Virtual separately from district schools so it wouldn't compete with them for funding.
Young, for her part, settled early on the idea that student accomplishment would be the measure of the school. "We all know that seat time doesn't guarantee learning, and in some cases it obstructs learning," Young says. "I felt very strongly this is a model that needs to be based on mastery so that it can be individualized and personalized for kids."
It also lent itself to a business mindset for getting funded as Florida Virtual's revenue is based on the number of students who complete courses rather than the usual formula based on the number who warm chairs. She also chose a "high-touch" virtual model, in which students are required to have voice-to-voice contact with teachers rather than communicate solely online.


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NEWPORT, N.H. (AP) -- A gun factory in Newport, New Hampshire, is cleaning up after a fire overnight in an area where gun parts are treated with heat.
The fire at the Sturm Ruger & Co. factory was reported about 6:30 Sunday night and put out in less than an hour.
Fire Department Lieutenant Jim Blood says Ruger employees warned firefighters to use dry chemicals rather than water to fight the fire. They said the 10-by-20-foot room had vats of molten metal in it that could cause a steam explosion if water was poured on them.
Blood said damage to the plant was confined to the small room and the duct work and roof above it.


text: Fast growing, evergreen shrub that copes well with drought conditions and wind. It can grow to 2m and responds well to pruning. There are many colours available now from yellow, orange, salmon, pink and red and they flower from spring through summer. It also attracts the sunbirds, bees, butterflies like the Zebra Blue, insect eating birds and is used for nesting. I've seen it pruned into a formal hedge. You may need to cut it back slightly in spring if the frost has caught the tips during the winter. It also has medicinal uses and the bark infusions are used for fever, pain, insomnia, chest problems, dysentery, bleeding gums and pneumonia . Powdered bark is rubbed around the teeth to heal bleeding gums. The nursing mothers wear a necklace of pieces of stem. The leaves are browsed by stock as well as kudu, nyala, bushbuck, klipspringer and duiker. It is ideal for coastal gardens. Cattle and sheep graze the plant and the flowers and seed pods are used for pot pourri. Eve Palmer said in A Gardener's Year "…it doesn't care a button for heat, cold or drought, and is beautiful and fast". The name is derived from the Mexican term fro plants with tubular flowers.


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Date(s) - Friday, December 9, 2022
12:00 pm - 9:00 pm
This is a recurring event. See event description for more details.
Fishermen's Village
1200 W. Retta Esplanade
Punta Gorda, FL
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Enjoy over one million lights and themed decorations throughout Fishermen's Village from November 13 – December 31, 2022. Holiday music is featured each day and Santa also makes frequent appearances! Open to the public during all regular and extended hours of operation. Call or visit website for additional information.
We make every effort to ensure the accuracy of this information. However,
you should always call ahead to confirm dates, times, location, and other


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City Marshal Richard McCoy Extends Citywide Suspension on Evictions
By Al Barbarino November 14, 2012 7:45 am
reprintsSome city landlords are fuming at an announcement from New York City Marshal Richard McCoy today that all evictions remain suspended through this week as a result of Hurricane Sandy, and that "no target date" has been set for evictions to resume.
"I regret to inform you that evictions still remain suspended until further notices," states a letter issued by Mr. McCoy. "The city believes that the unprecedented damage, disruption, and impact of the Hurricane Sandy's disaster upon the City of New York continues, including thousands of persons, with special needs who require shelter and other financial needs."
New York City Marshals are appointed by the Mayor to physically carry out evictions, supervising the removal of tenants' belongings and making sure entry locks are changed.
"Currently there is no target date and until we have been informed of such, no eviction dates will be provided (not even a tentative date)," the letter goes on.
While landlords told The Commercial Observer that perhaps the move was well-intentioned, they said they had hoped that the moratorium on evictions would have been lifted by now, as things get back to normal for most New Yorkers.
"That kind of sucks for all the city's landlords," said one city property owner who did not wish to be identified. "It sucks sh*t."
Though one landlord said that an informal moratorium has been in place on evictions during the month of December for years, another said he would not hesitate to evict people as the holiday season rolls around as the rule was "not in the books."
"Just like tenants expect us to provide services, we expect them to pay us so that we can provide those services," the owner of multiple multi-family properties said.
"Ultimately New York City, certainly the court system, is biased in favor of tenants, and this is just another bit of proof of that," he went on. "While this is meant for those in dire need after Hurricane Sandy, you have a very large number of people who are taking advantage and not paying rents."
But, he added, "It's just another cost of doing business."
Tenant rights groups agreed with the decision.
"To move forward with evictions at this time would be quite ridiculous," said Damaris Reyes, executive director with Good Old Lower East Side (GOLES), a tenant rights advocacy group. "Everyone has to pitch in to do their part after this devastating event. If that means a few landlords have to pitch in, then so be it."
"It never ceases to amaze me how the haves treat the have-nots," she added.
[scribd id=113151163 key=key-20lfbbembjh590f3gruw mode=scroll]The full letter from the city marshal read as follows:
Unfortunately, I regret to inform you that evictions still remain suspended until further notices. There will be no evictions scheduled for this week. The city believes that the unprecedented damage , disruption, and impact of the Hurricane Sandy's disaster upon the City of New York continues, including thousands of persons, with special needs who require shelter and other financial needs.
Power outages, disruption of fuel, transportation, and telecommunication services also continue. In sum, the City of New York is still responding to a major disaster and widespread emergency conditions.
According to the City of New York, they will continue to monitor the situation and will advise us as to when we are able to proceed with evictions. Currently there is no target date and until we have been informed of such, no eviction dates will be provided (not even a tentative date).
I truly apologize for any inconvenience that this may have caused, and please understand that this is beyond our control. I am sure that the city is doing the best they can to accommodate everyone, and I will notify everyone as soon as we are given the okay to proceed with evictions.
Until such notice is received, we ask that you please be patient and bare with us because we know that this has been a very difficult time for everyone, and we are all anxious to resume business.
Again I do apologize for the inconvenience that this may have caused your business, and I thank you for your time, understanding, and cooperation on this matter. Please feel free to contact me at the above address and or phone number if you have any further questions.


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Stein recognized among leaders in global disability community
William & Mary Law Professor Michael Stein was among just nine international leaders to be honored as inaugural recipients of the Henry Viscardi Achievement Award.
The awards were announced earlier this month by The Viscardi Center of New York, a network of non-profit organizations that provides services to children and adults with disabilities. According to their website, the awards "identify and recognize contemporary members of the global disability community who through their actions and achievements have, are or will profoundly impact the quality of life of people with disabilities."
Stein was hailed as "one of the world's foremost experts on disability and rights," in the Center's announcement. The release went on to say, "[His] research is debunking stereotypes and offering innovative legal strategies and policy ideas that are regularly published in America's prestigious law journals. His work has taken him to Bangladesh, China, the Philippines, South Africa, Vietnam, and many other nations.Stein, a noted expert on disability law and rights, has been a member of the Law School faculty since 2000. He is also the co-founder and executive director of the Harvard Law School Project on Disability. In addition to playing a prominent role in the drafting of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Stein counsels governments on disability law and policy, represents international disability rights organizations, trains disability human rights advocates around the globe, and serves on several disability rights and research advisory boards. He holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a Ph.D. from Cambridge University.
Earlier this year Stein was also recognized by the Obama Administration
with an appointment to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council. The
council serves as the governing board of the museum which was
established in 1980.


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Note: Originally posted on January 2014. Reposted here with permission from the author.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park was my hiking destination yesterday. Leaving Asheville at 9 a.m., I traveled to Gatlinburg for a meeting with Todd Witcher, executive director for Discover Life in America, a nonprofit organization that manages a thorough scientific inventory of all the park's species that has been going on for the past 15 years.
After talking with Todd about the project and viewing the park's LEED Certified Twin Creeks Science and Education Center with its vast collections room, I was excited to get out into the woods and see if I could spot some live specimens. I didn't have a great deal of time, and so chose a short, easy trail that begins behind the Sugarlands Visitor Center. It was 64 degrees and about 1 p.m. when I started out on the Fighting Creek Nature Trail.
I hadn't been hiking long when I heard quite a ruckus of high-pitched vocalizations just a "tad" off the trail. Following what I at first mistook for bird chatter, I spied a small green pond, tucked behind a grove of trees. Immediately upon seeing the water, I realized the source of the raucous sounds.
Upon my arrival at the tiny pond's bank, all was quiet; only the final plops of retreat echoed across the surface, now muddy from what was sure to be dozens of diving frogs!
How long does one have to sit beside a pond before the frogs will start peeping again? I decided to attempt to find out. I sat very still in the soft leaves, watching and listening. Finally, after some 20 minutes, I began to see slow movement in the water, and tiny heads with great bulging eyes began to emerge one by one all over the pond. Before long I realized I could see at least 15 pairs of eyes, all fixed on me!
Once when I lifted my binoculars to get a better view, the gleaming amphibians darted down in retreat once again. But this time, it didn't take long for them to come back up. They seemed as interested in studying me as I was in watching them.
I adapted to making much slower movements, and they adapted to my presence. Finally, after nearly an hour, they relaxed and stopped staring at me, drifting lazily with out-splayed legs in what I suppose is their usual fashion when unmonitored. Then, with them facing away from me, I was able to get a few zoomed photographs without causing a stir. But, alas, their peeping never did resume during my surveillance.
What I did was not unlike the way that scientists involved with Discover Life in America's All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory work to identify and record the locations of various species throughout the park. The people who combine efforts on this project are not just scientists with university degrees but also everyday armchair naturalist types who are, like me, just really interested in nature. They are what DLIA proudly calls "citizen scientists" – and without them, the ATBI would not have exceeded all expectations and discovered more than 900 species in the park that are new to science!
The nature trail loop was pleasurable and felt fairly "out there" for being so close to the visitor center and a major park thoroughfare, although I'm sure during warmer months there is little solitude here. There was plenty of picturesque intersection with the beautiful creek and signage pointed out a few tree species' names that were new to me, including Hop-Hornbeam, used by the Cherokee as a painkiller. I was happy to encounter a pair of Dark-eyed Juncos – to balance the taxonomic specimens I had seen earlier. For those interested in historic structures, the restored 1860s John Ownby Cabin stands at about the half-way point. Had I not practised patience at the peeper pond, I'd have completed the entire hike in under an hour.
After capping off my solo adventure with a quick jaunt up to Cataract Falls (off the nature trail), I rejoined the Fighting Creek loop that led me back near the frogs' habitat. I could hear their cacophonous chorus loud and clear and was tempted to return to their secluded domicile for more amphibious fun.
But the sun was getting low in the sky and I had several hours' drive ahead. It was time to set a course for my own old Kentucky home, where late last night I learned from Wikipedia that in Cherokee lore, the Sugarlands was part of the area known as "Walasi'yi," or "Frog place."
Distance traveled: 1.6 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Birds spotted: Dark-eyed Junko, Northern Cardinal, Tufted Titmouse
Flora of note: Hop-hornbeam, Box Elder, Sycamore, Yellow Poplar, Paw Paw, Sweet Gum, Sassafras, Moosewood


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Create a Website Account - Manage notification subscriptions, save form progress and more.
After 3:00 pm, no permits will be issued or money accepted. Permits must be picked up between 8:30 am and 3:00 pm.
On the last day of the month, no permits will be issued or money will be accepted after 11:00 am.
Show All Answers
Building Department review only: Two sets of hardcopy drawings and one digital copy are required when plans are being submitted for review. Digital copies may be submitted by CD, e-mail or USB memory drive form. If Health Department review is is required: Three sets of hardcopy drawings and one digital copy are required when plans are being submitted.
On weekdays between 7:00 A.M. and 6:00 P.M.; Construction and demolition is not allowed to be done between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. the following day on weekdays or at any time between 6:00 p.m. Friday and 7:00 a.m. on Monday, or 6:00 p.m. the day preceding a legal holiday and 7:00 a.m. the day following a legal holiday, provided that such equipment is equipped with a functioning muffler. An exception to this prohibition shall be such emergency situations when work is permitted by the Village President, the Village Administrator or their designee.
If a resident feels that a neighbor or member of the community is working during hours that they shouldn't, please call the Police Department at 973-763-3000, ext. 0 for the non-emergency line.
Typically, any exterior structure or construction work will require a survey. Its most commonly requested for the construction of an addition, air conditioning condenser, deck or new building.
Once the OPRA request has been received by the Clerk's office, they will send it to our office; within seven (7) business days we will advise you if we have records available for your review. There is only a fee if you request printed copies of records.
No permit is required for existing detached one- or two-family dwellings for the roof covering materials. This include all buildings such as garages, sheds, pool houses, and the like that are accessory to a detached one- or two-family home (Group R-5). Stripping the roof down to existing sheathing or putting on a second layer of roof covering does NOT require a permit. Townhouses and condos will require roof permits. Replacing sheathing will always require a permit.
In all occupancies, no permit is required for the replacement of any part of a deck, porch or stoop that does not provide support to a building or structure. Any part includes the deck support posts or columns, headers or girders, floor joists, decking, railing, stairs, etc. Replacement of any of these parts will NOT require a permit. A total replacement, from the existing foundation or footing on up, will require a full permit. A total replacement, expansion of an existing deck, or the new installation of a deck will require a full permit, not a minor work permit.
For more information on decks, click here.


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Q&A: Amazon lawyer on feds' subpoena for 24,000 customer records
News.com chats with David Zapolsky, Amazon.com's vice president for litigation, about what the bookseller does when it receives requests from police for records of its customers' buying habits.
Amazon.com won an important legal fight to preserve its customers' privacy by persuading a court to reject requests for 24,000 customer records made by federal prosecutors in Madison, Wis.
Documents in that case, in which the FBI and IRS are accusing an independent Amazon seller of skirting tax laws, came to light in the last week. But it's not the first time that police on a fishing expedition have demanded customer records from the Web's largest bookstore.
Read on for our excerpts from our conversation on Wednesday with David Zapolsky, Amazon.com's vice president for litigation. He said a few years ago that Amazon gets subpoenas "roughly once a quarter," and we asked him for some more information about how the process works.
It's important to note that the First Amendment gives online and offline bookstores a greater legal ability to resist law enforcement demands than say, banks or credit card companies enjoy. And Amazon is following the tradition of other booksellers, which have a tradition of--individually and through the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression--opposing requests from overzealous prosecutors.
In an important 2002 case, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that police could not serve a search warrant on Denver's Tattered Cover Book Store. Two years earlier, a judge denied the Drug Enforcement Administration's attempts to get sales records from a Borders bookstore as part of a grand jury investigation. And perhaps the most famous case came when independent counsel Kenneth Starr tried unsuccessfully to obtain Monica Lewinsky's purchase records from Kramerbooks, a popular neighborhood bookstore in Washington, D.C.
Here's the conversation:
Q: How often does Amazon.com receive requests for customer records?
We do get them from time to time. They come in relatively randomly, and they come from various orders, federal or state. We typically approach each one on a case by case basis.
Nine times out of ten, if what's being asked for involves the compelled disclosure of customer expressive choices... we'll explain our concerns to the government and they'll understand it and they'll withdraw their request or they'll modify it in a way that doesn't cause disclosure of that (information).
Q: Is it more common to see law enforcement withdraw the request or modify it?
It's hard to characterize. It depends on how badly they need the information and what the investigation is about. If they're looking for credit card fraud, for instance, all they really may be interested in is transaction amounts, there's no information about buyers or customers or anything. So if it's a different type of investigation, they may decide its just not worth pursuing the subpoena at all.
Q: How does the volume of records in this request compare to past requests you've received?
It's hard to generalize because each one of these things is a little bit different. This (the Madison, Wis. case) was unusual in that the sheer number of transactions was unusually large: 24,000 sales of individual books, music and a few videos, and that's a lot of sales. When they came back and asked us for all of the customer information associated with those sales, I was surprised.
Q: Can you share any details on past requests?
I never really talk about details of ones we're able to resolve informally. It doesn't make sense, and a lot of them are ongoing investigations.
This only became public after the investigation was concluded, it all played out last summer, only unsealed within last couple of days. (Editor's note: The indictment of former city official Robert D'Angelo on tax evasion, wire fraud, and money laundering charges became public last month. Prosecutors sent a grand jury subpoena to Amazon over the summer during the investigation that let to the subsequent indictment.)
There's only been a few times when we had to go to a court to make this point. (There was) one instance in South Carolina a few years ago that never resulted in any public filings because ultimately the prosecutor's case fell apart before we got to a decision on whether or not they could enforce the subpoena.
There was a case four to five years ago where some Cleveland prosecutors asked for some similar information. They were trying to get the Washington prosecutor to enforce a local subpoena and the local prosecutor ultimately agreed with us that that it didn't make sense.
This was certainly the first public decision that resulted from a challenge such as the one we made.
Q: What do you look at when these requests come in from law enforcement?
When the request for information could violate customer privacy or First Amendment rights, we scrutinize it closely. We talk with the government about it, and if we still can't feel comfortable...we'll just ask a court to make that decision.
What this court held and what we believe the law is, is a court needs to apply a higher standard before allowing the government to get...access to that information. We don't want to be the ones making that determination if there's any doubt at all.
We think this is a significant decision because it recognizes and adopts in the federal grand jury context a doctrine that has kind of been development over the past 10 years in the prior cases...The Kramerbooks case, which grew out of the special prosecutor's investigation of President Clinton and then the Tattered Cover bookstore case in Denver, Colorado, which resulted in a very fine Colorado Supreme Court opinion which goes through the history of this legal doctrine.
This is just an extension of a doctrine that has been kind of percolating for a while, and it's significant because it's a federal district court and it's a federal grand jury investigation...(It) continues the development of important protection for customers and for readers of books.
News.com's Anne Broache contributed to this report.


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From The Hamilton Beach Test Kitchen
Added by Pat
Serves: 16
TEST KITCHEN TIP: For seasonal or special occasions, color batter with food coloring. For fun, color batter for one cupcake yellow and the rest a different color. Give a prize to the person who gets the cup of gold! (Be sure to bake cupcakes in foil-lined baking cups so batter color does not show through the paper.)


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Lady Antebellum Want to Perform at Your Prom
If you're having a particularly difficult time choosing your prom theme for this year — the Vegas theme is a little tired and you're tired of standing by a cardboard miniature of the Eiffel Tower — Lady Antebellum are offering up a pretty compelling alternative. The country trio would like to suggest a different option, and they're even willing to come help you pull it off. How about an 'Own the Night'-themed prom?
The band just announced on their website that they're willing to come to one high school this year and perform for 45 minutes during that high school's prom, regardless of whether it's a junior, senior or reunion prom (good news for older country fans). But they're not going to do it without a little effort from the person submitting the request. The 'We Owned the Night' singers are asking fans to submit videos giving details about their city, their school and why they want to have the trio at their prom.
Submissions can be made to the band by emailing a YouTube link (see video below for details) by March 16, and the most creative submission will be selected on March 20. In addition to a 45-minute performance, the group is also giving out two passes for a pre-performance meet and greet. Even though only one submission will win, Lady A say they're going to be featuring others on their social networks.
The band, who are already well into writing songs for their next record, are currently nominated for four ACM Awards and are keeping super busy on their Own the Night 2012 Tour. Just this week, they released the music video for their hit single 'Dancin' Away With My Heart.'
Watch Lady Antebellum Explain How You Can Get Them at Your Prom


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Columns Retired Columns & Blogs |
I was looking for copyright and/or patent info on "Streamlength" and found none (only a TM).
Please reply with more info on this issue as necessary. Thx!
The rules have changed today
What makes the QB-9 different? I'll just hit the high points here. (For the full particulars, see Ayre's white paper.)
To achieve the maximum resolution, a D/A converter must use a high-precision clock circuit running at a fixed frequency to control the timing of the conversion of each digital sample to an analog voltage. By contrast, almost all USB DACs operate in what's called adaptive USB mode, which means having to use a variable-frequency clock rather than a fixed-frequency master clock. For various reasons, a computer cannot maintain perfect timing of the data packets it sends a DAC via USB. Most adaptive USB DACs are based on one of Burr-Brown's PCM270x family of chips. The BB chip typically changes the master-clock frequency to match the average sampling frequency of the data it receiveshence the "adaptive." The drawback to this, says Ayre (and which John Atkinson's measurements of other USB DACs seem to confirm), is that adaptive USB DACs tend to have high levels of jitter. Also, the BB receiver chip maxes out at a resolution of 16 bits and a 48kHz sample rate.
The USB standards documents also list a mode of operation called "asynchronous." This is not to be confused with Asynchronous Sample Rate Converters; asynchronous USB operation is called that because the DAC's master clock isn't synchronized to any clocks within the computer. Instead, the DAC is controlled by a high-precision fixed-frequency clock, and, to match this clock, the DAC controls the flow of data packets from the computer to a buffer upstream of the D/A converter chips. The BB 270x chips can be run only in adaptive mode, but Texas Instruments' TAS1020B USB interface chip, which incorporates an onboard microcontroller and a memory buffer, can operate in asynchronous mode, and will also accommodate sample rates up to 96kHz and word lengths of 24 bits.
For the QB-9, Ayre has licensed the asynchronous technology developed by Wavelength's Gordon Rankin for the TAS1020B chip. In his life B.A. (Before Audio), Rankin was chief engineer at what he coyly refers to as "the sixth largest manufacturer of PCs in the world." He spent nearly two years developing the software for the microcontroller that allows the TAS1020B to work in "asynchronous" mode with both PCs and Macs, using only the native drivers included in their operating systems. Rankin's software for the TI chip is marketed as Streamlength; Ayre is the first company to license it.
The QB-9 marries Streamlength to the Ayre ethos of zero feedback and fully balanced operation, not to mention Ayre's new minimum-phase digital reconstruction filter, implemented in a Field-Programmable Gate Array (see my Follow-Up on the Ayre C-5xeMP, July 2009, p.98). Ayre also isolates the USB receiver section from the rest of the audio circuitry with opto-isolators, to prevent any noise generated by the source computer and its host of clocks from polluting the audio signal.
Basically, the QB-9 has a single inputUSB, duhand analog outputs: one set each, balanced and single-ended. A small set of switches on the rear panel offer a choice of four operating configurations. The first is Ayre's usual Measure/Listen digital filter option (I tend to prefer Listen). The second is Power Mode, which lets you choose between the QB-9 powering on when it detects the computer powering on, or powering up only when it detects incoming data. Another switch lets you turn off the front panel's display. The fourth switch has no function as yet, but is there in case Ayre thinks up something else for the QB-9 to do.
My soul has been psychedelicized
Setting up the QB-9 in my main system wasn't as plug'n'play as I'd envisioned. Details matteredmaxing out the RAM on my G4 iBook made a huge difference to the sound, as did matching the sample rates on the computer and DAC. I'd hoped the QB-9 would sort through my 44.1, 48, 88.2, and 96kHz music files and just play each at its native sample rate. Well, it didbut my iBook wasn't so versatile. I could change the sample rate in the latter's Audio MIDI setup, but it wouldn't "take" unless I closed and reopened iTunes. Also, iTunes doesn't support FLAC, so I had to convert FLAC files to AIF with a bit of freeware called Max.
Technically speaking, none of these are the QB-9's "shortcomings"; they're native to the current state of iTunes. Windows-optimized music streaming programs are apparently more forgiving. Ayre offers on its website pages dedicated to tweaking different operating systems from Apple and Microsoft.
I was looking for copyright and/or patent info on "Streamlength" and found none (only a TM).
Please reply with more info on this issue as necessary. Thx!


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2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground clove
1/4 cup (1/2 a stick) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup canola oil
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
3 cups grated carrot (peeled)
1 cup finely chopped pineapple
3/4 cup finely chopped pecans, toasted
12 ounces (1&1/2 packages) cream cheese, softened
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups confectioners' sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 3 (8-inch) cake pans, using your preferred method.
In a medium sized mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and clove.
In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat together butter, oil, brown sugar, and granulated sugar, until creamy, about 1-2 minutes. Beat in vanilla, and one egg at a time, until well combined.
Reduce mixer speed to low, and beat in flour mixture, alternating with the milk, until combined, about 1-2 minutes (always remember to scrape down the sides of your bowl). Stir in carrot, pineapple, and pecans, using a rubber spatula, until well combined.
Scrape batter evenly into prepared cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees F, for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown, and cake springs back when pressed gently, in the center. Cool pans on a wire rack, for 10 minutes. Run a knife around outer edges, and invert cakes onto waxed/parchment paper, to cool completely.
Frost as desired.
To make the frosting, beat together cream cheese, and butter, in a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, until creamy, about 1-2 minutes. Beat in vanilla, and sift in confectioners' sugar, gradually, until frosting is smooth and creamy, about 2-3 minutes (remember to scrape down the sides of your bowl).
*To toast the pecans, place in a dry skillet, over medium heat, and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently, until golden brown and fragrant.
I actually toast mine in the microwave-it's faster and easier. Just place them in a small bowl, and microwave them for 40-60 seconds, tossing every 20 seconds, or so.
Yield: 12 servings


text:
245 The ms. and edd. read matris deae-"of the mother goddess;" for which Meursius proposed deûm-"mother of the gods," the usual form of the title. Cf. cc. 7 and 16. [See Elucidation V. also note the reference to St. Augustine.]
246 The name is wanting in the ms. Cf. c. 28.
247 No Attic family of this name is mentioned anywhere; but in Cos the Nebridae were famous as descendants of Aesculapius through Nebros. In Attica, on the other hand, the initiated were robed in fawn-skins (nebri/dej), and were on this account spoken of as nebri/zontej. Salmasius has therefore suggested (ad Solinum, p. 864, E) that Arnobius, or the author on whom he relied, transferred the family to Attica on account of the similarity of sound.
248 Lit., "who have attached to themselves."
249 Arnobius would seem to have beern partial to this phrase, which occurs in the middle of c. 38.
251 Lit., "with what shame and insult of the gods this is said to be done."
255 Lit., "strong in chastity."
256 The ms., first three edd., Elm., and Oehler read commorantur-"lingers," i.e., "continues to be spoken of;"the other edd. receive commemorantur, as above, from the errata in the 1st ed.
257 The ms., first four edd., and Oehler read gravitas-seriousness; corrected pr. as above, in all edd. after Stewechius.
258 So, perhaps, the unintelligible ms. dignorum should be emended digna rerum.
259 So all edd. since Stewechius, adding s to the ms. voluisse.
260 i.e., the mere fact that the stories were published, showed a wish to teach; but their being allegories, showed a reluctance to allow them to be understood.
261 The edd. read this sentence interrogatively.
262 i.e., "if you said exactly what you mean." The reference is not to the immediately preceding words, but to the question on which the chapter is based-"what prevented you from expressing," etc.
265 Lit., "is it clear to you."
268 So most edd., reading occultatio for the ms. occupatio.
269 So all edd., reading com-, except Hild. and Oehler, who retain the ms. reading, im-pressio-"the assault of," i.e., "on."
270 Lit., "waves"-fluctibus, the reading of the ms., LB., Hild., and Oehler; the other edd. reading fustibus-"stakes."
271 So Meursius, changing the ms. o- into u-rigo.
272 The first four edd. retain the ms., reading partis-"brought forth;" the others adopt a suggestion of Canterus, raptis, as above.
274 Addere garo gerrem, a proverb ridiculing a worthless addition, which nullifies something in itself precious, garum being a highly esteemed sauce (or perhaps soup), which would be thrown away upon gerres, a worthless kind of salt fish. Arnobius merely means, however, that while such stories are wrong, what follows is unspeakably worse.
275 Lit., "with undubitable knowledge."
276 Lit., "it ought to have been so believed, and to be held fixed in thought just," etc.
277 Lit., "are in this part of censure."
279 Lit., "the warp," stamine.
280 i.e., if things are spoken of under their proper names.
281 The ms. reads ac unintelligibly.
2 Lit., "series which is," etc.
3 Singular. [But costly churches were built about this time.]
4 Non altaria, non aras, i.e., neither to the superior nor inferior deities. Cf. Virgil, Ecl., v. 66.
5 [It is not with any aversion to incense that I note its absence, so frequently attested, from primitive rites of the Church.]
6 The earlier edd. prefix d to the ms. eos-"that the gods," etc.
7 Lit., "endowed with the eminence of this name."
9 The ms. wants se which was supplied by Stewechius.
10 i.e., not act impartially and benevolently, which may possibly be the meaning of contrariis agere, or, as Oehler suggests, "to assail men with contrary, i.e., injurious things." All edd. read egere, except Oehler, who can see no meaning in it; but if translated, "to wish for contrary things," it suits the next clause very well.
11 Lit., "whom passion touches, suffer."
12 So the ms., Stewechius, Hild., and Oehler, while the first four edd. and Oberthür merely add m to dolore, and join with the preceding pati-"suffer pain, are weakened."
13 [See note 5, book. vi. p. 506.]
14 The ms. and most edd. read di-vina nobiscum-"the divine things along with us;" Heraldus rejects div. as a gloss, while Meursius, followed by Orelli, corrects dii una, and Oehler divi una, as above.
15 Lit., "are contained in vital substance."
16 Arnobius here expressly denies that the Christians had any temples. There has been some controversy on the subject (Mosheim, book i. cent. 1, ch. 4, sec. 5, Soames' ed.), surely as needless as controversy could be; for as the Christians must at all times have had stated places of meeting (although in time of persecution these might be changed frequently), it is clear that, in speaking thus, the meaning must be only, that their buildings had no architectural pretensions, and their service no splendour of ritual. [Diocletian's mild beginning suffered Christians to build costly temples in many places. These he subsequently destroyed with great severity.]
18 So the edd., reading constructa for the corrupt ms. conscripta-"written."
19 i.e., to suppose that temples are necessary to the gods, is to make them subject to human weakness.
20 Lit. "with fortifications of roofs."
21 i.e., if you have regard merely to the weakness of men, a temple may be something wonderful.
23 Lit., "formed by contrivance of a poor heart."
24 Institutor, wanting in all edd., except Hild. and Oehler.
25 Arnobius here agrees with Clemens Alexandrinus, but Jos. Scaliger has pointed out that the name should be Cecrops. It is possible that Arnobius may have been misled by what was merely a slip of Clement's pen. [See the passage here referred to, vol. ii. p. 184, this series.]
26 The preceding words, from "this of Hercules," are omitted by the first four edd. and Elmenh., and were first restored from the ms. by Stewechius.
28 So the edd., reading habere districtos for the ms. destructos.
29 Lit., "that the things be thought to be."
30 Lit., "knowledge being anticipated."
31 These words, et tacitis, omitted by Oberthür, are similarly omitted by Orelli without remark.
32 So the edd., inserting quo- into the ms. reading ita-que-"it is therefore fitting," which is absurd, as making the connection between the members of the sentence one not of analogy, but of logical sequence.
33 Cf. the speech of Thetis, Iliad, i. 423-425.
34 So the margin of Ursinus, Elm., LB., and Orelli, with Meursius, reading audiamini for the ms. audiamur-"we are heard," which does not harmonize with the next clause.
35 Lit., "for the purpose of coming to know the thing."
36 Lit., "if there are any others."
37 So the ms., reading c-ogitare, corrected r--"to beg," in the margin of Ursinus and Elm. For the preceding words the ms. reads, poscantque de numine. The edd. omit que as above, except Oehler, who reads quae-"what hope will there be, what, pray, to all," etc.
38 So the ms., reading si uspiam poterit aliquando non esse, which may be understood in two senses, either not limited by space, or not in space, i.e., not existing; but the reading and meaning must be regarded as alike doubtful.
39 A Syracusan historian. The rest of the chapter is almost literally translated from Clement, who is followed by Eusebius also (Praep. Evang., ii. 6). [See vol. ii. p. 184, this series.]
41 In Thessaly, whither (acc. to Pausanias) he had fled in vain, to avoid the fulfillment of the oracle that he should be killed by his daughter's son.
42 i.e., Athena Polias, or guardian of cities. Immediately below, the ms. reads Immarnachus, corrected in LB. and Orelli Immarus from Clem., who speaks of "Immarus, son of Eumolpus and Daeira."
43 So the unintelligible reading of the ms., humation-ibus officia, was emended by Heraldus, followed by LB. and Orelli, is habuisse.
44 i.e., the temple near Didyma, sacred to Apollo, who was worshipped then under the name Didymus.
45 i.e., "lover of his father," the name given ironically to the fourth Ptolemy, because he murdered his father.


text:
AMP for WP automatically adds Accelerated Mobile Pages (Google AMP Project) functionality to your WordPress site. AMP makes your website faster for Mobile visitors.
What's New in this Version? | Priority Support | View Demo | Screenshots | Community
Some useful extensions to extend AMP features, check AMP Adsense Support, Contact Form 7 Support, Email Opt-in Support and Call To Action Support. To view more, go to our Extensions page.
We try our best to provide support on WordPress.org forums. However, We have a special community support where you can ask us questions and get help about your AMP related questions. Delivering a good user experience means a lot to us and so we try our best to reply each and every question that gets asked.
Bug Reports
Bug reports for AMP for WP are welcomed on GitHub. Please note GitHub is not a support forum, and issues that aren't properly qualified as bugs will be closed.
- NEW – Gutenberg Support
- NEW – Divi and Elementor Support More Info
- NEW – Improved CSS Optimization (Tree Shaking)
- NEW – Google Fonts Support For All Designs
- NEW – Addthis Sharing Support
- NEW – AMP Infinite Scroll Support
- NEW – Photo Gallery by 10Web Support
- NEW – MEWE social network Support
- NEW – GDPR Compliance
- Out of the box compatiblity for Yoast SEO, All in One Seo, Rank Math, Genesis, SEOPress, Bridge Qode SEO, The SEO Framework and Squrilly SEO Plugin.
- Introducing Page Builder 3.0 for AMP! Learn More & Video
- New Default Theme for AMP called Swift
- 3 Pre-built AMP Layouts for Business websites and landing pages
- OneSignal Push Notifications integration
- Advanced WooCommerce Support More Info
- Gravity Forms Support More Info
- AMP Plugins Manager – Which allows you to disable a specific plugin functionality only in the AMP version
- Structured Data Options
- Page Break / NextPage (Pagination) Support
- Contact Form 7 Support More Info
- Graviry Form Support More Info
- Caldera Form Support More Info
- Ninja Form Support More Info
- Facebook Comments Support
- Github Gist Support
- Email Opt-in Subscription form support in AMP added
- Call to Action boxes and notification bars
- 9 Advertisement sizes – 2 More AD slots added recently
- Comments Forms in AMP.
- Native AMP Search functionality.
- Design 3 Watch the Video Overview
- Disqus Comments Support
- Google Tag Manager Support
- Page, Category & Tags Support Added
- Custom AMP Editor – Which allows you to override your Content that you had written in Post or page, so you can add the different content just for AMP.
- Mobile Redirection – More than 50% of your traffic is from mobile and you aren't doing anything to improve their user experience, which means you are falling behind on SEO and it can result in lower SERPS. Lightning fast mobile version means faster User experience means more engagement which directly results in the lower bounce rate.
- Custom Post Type Support
- Star Ratings
- Drag & Drop Page builder Added
- 4 Designs for AMP
- AMP WooCommerce Support
- Switch on/off Support for Pages & Posts on AMP
- Translation Panel & RTL
- Internal AMP linking – You can browse AMP pages internally
- Related posts below the post
- Recent Comments list
- Automatically integrate AMP to your website.
- Google Adsense (AMP-AD) Support with 4 different Ad slots across the layout! The First Plugin to have this capability.
- Built in MGID Ads Support with 6 different ad slots.
- Google Analytics Support.
- User Friendly Theme Options Panel.
- Unlimited Color Scheme.
- Image Logo Upload.
- Supports Posts and Pages and other custom post types.
- Proper rel canonical tags which means that Google know the original page.
- Overlay Navigation Menu bar.
- Social Sharing in the Single.
- Sexy Design.
- Separate WordPress Menu for AMP version.
- Page builder & Shortcodes Compatibility.
- Carousel support for Gallery.
- Better Image stretching and resizing.
- Youtube Video Embed Support.
- Vine Embed Support.
- Twitter oembed Support.
- Instagram Embed Support.
- Facebook Video Embed Support.
- RTL Support
- Custom AMP FrontPage
- Notifications
- Alexa Metrics, Chartbeat, Hi-stats, Yandex Metrika, Piwik, Segment.com, StatCounter, Effective Measure and comScore Builtin Support
- Incontent & DoubleClick Support
- Great Support & Active Development.
- Widgets & WooCommerce
- Breadcrumb Support added
- Facebook Instant Articles Support Added
- AMP Installation Wizard that makes it easy to setup for new users.
- Category base remover support
- Tag base remover support
- 7 New Social Media Integrations added (Reddit, Tumblr, Telegram, Digg, StumbleUpon, Wechat, Viber)
- AMP Theme Framework Core Support Added. You can now create AMP templates of your own in just minutes. More
- NEW – Make AMP & Non-AMP Same with just one click!
- NEW – Allows you to use AMP as primary website!
JOIN CHAT GROUP COMMUNITY: Purpose of this group is to get proper suggestions and feedback from plugin users and the community so that we can make the plugin even better.
Getting Started:
1. User Documentation: The AMP for WordPress plugin is easy to setup but we have some tutorials and guides prepared for you which will help you dive deep with the plugin.
2. Developer Docs: We have created special documentations for developers and semi technical users who are willing to modify the plugin according to their own needs.
3. Support: We try our best to provide support on WordPress.org forums. However, We have a special community support where you can ask us questions and get help about your AMP related questions. Delivering a good user experience means a lot to us and so we try our best to reply each and every question that gets asked.
4. Premium Support: We will personally take care that your website's AMP version is perfectly validated. We will make sure that your AMP version gets approved and indexed by Google Webmaster Tools properly and we will even keep an eye on AMP updates from Google and implement them into your website.
Some code used in this plugin was forked from 'AMP for WordPress' plugin https://wordpress.org/plugins/amp/ – License URI: http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html.
Mobile & Tablet detection library used https://github.com/serbanghita/Mobile-Detect – License URI: https://github.com/serbanghita/Mobile-Detect/blob/master/LICENSE.txt
PHP CSS Parser library used https://github.com/sabberworm/PHP-CSS-Parser – License URI: https://github.com/sabberworm/PHP-CSS-Parser#license (PHP-CSS-Parser is freely distributable under the terms of an MIT-style license.)
Can I add analytics?
Yes, you easily can. In fact, we have support for 12 Analytics companies. Including Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, StatCounter, QuantCast, Chartbeat, comScore to list a few. Also, we have Google Tag Manager (GTM) support as well.
Can I add Ads in my AMP pages?
Yes, you can. We have 6 ad placement slots that are built in and strategically placed to get maximum views. Also, we have an extension from which you can insert ads between the content, will get more ad slots and also add custom banners to all the available slots.
Can I extend/Change the AMP design, so it suits my needs?
Yes, you easily can. We have created this plugin in such a way that it can easily be extended. Check out our AMP Theme Framework
Do you have any prebuilt designs?
Yes, we have AMP themes section where we have free and paid designs available. We also update it regularly. You can check it out our AMP Themes
I'm a developer and I want to add custom functionality for a client, can I do that?
Yes, of course. This plugin is very developer friendly, we have lots of hooks and filters that you can use to extend and customize according to the requirements. Also, we have developer documentation which we update regularly.
How do I report bugs and suggest new features?
You can report the bugs here
Will you Add New features to my request?
Yes, Absolutely! We would suggest you send your feature request by creating an issue in Github . It helps us organize the feedback easily.
How do I get in touch?
You can contact us from here
"AMP for WP – Accelerated Mobile Pages" is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
1.0.48 (9th May 2020)
- Fixed: Title not showing with Yoast in some scenarios #4434
- Fixed: Canonical not showing with Yoast when AMP takeover is enabled #4434
- Fixed: Lightbox for images appearing even after disabling #4442
- Fixed: Menu and internal links are not working through Google CDN #4429
- Fixed: GDPR privacy text appearing on the top of the homepage #4435
- Fixed: Modules are not displaying in background video in pagebuilder #4398
- Fixed: Showing too many redirect in WPML with mobile redirection #4444
- Fixed: Detecting the Mobile redirection config to avoid manual tasks #4382
- Fixed: Pagination of category module not jumping on 1st & last links #4401
- Fixed: Notice added when category based is removed from Yoast #4437
- Fixed: Debug notices on the AMP pages #4440
1.0.47 (5th May 2020)
- Fixed: Few issues fixed with latest version of yoast plugin #4430
1.0.46 (4th May 2020)
- Fixed: Few issues fixed with latest version of yoast plugin #4430
- Fixed: Text not displaying in One signal notification #4413
- Fixed: Wrong amphtml in ?amp endpoint in category pages #4393
- Fixed: Open graph tags not loading from the SEO framework #4399
- Fixed: Blank class in archives loop and loop on homepage #4390
- Fixed: Pagination of category module going to top of the page #4401
- Fixed: Fatal error in customizer in trucking theme #4391
- Fixed: Auto Add AMP in Menu option not working in subdomain #4423
- Fixed: Showing entities instead of UTF-8 in footer json #4395
- Fixed: Ninja Tables plugin css was hiding due to class drawer #4428
- Fixed: AMP Option panel improvements #4408
Full changelog available at changelog.txt


text:
A new analysis released for Equal Pay Day tomorrow reveals that the Phoenix area's gender-based wage gap is punishing local families and the economy. Women who are employed full time in the Phoenix area are paid 85 cents for every dollar paid to men, amounting to a yearly gap in wages of $6,685. Collectively, this amounts to a loss of nearly $3.8 billion in income every year – money that could strengthen the local economy and provide critical support to the more than 198,000 Phoenix area households headed by women.
The analysis was conducted by the National Partnership for Women & Families, based on U.S. Census Bureau data. The National Partnership analyzed the wage gap in the country's 50 largest metropolitan areas and in all 50 states. It found that, statewide, women in Arizona are paid 85 cents for every dollar paid to men.
"This new analysis illustrates the great harm to families, states and metropolitan areas caused by the pervasive gender-based wage gap," said Debra L. Ness, president of the National Partnership for Women & Families. "With most women serving as essential breadwinners for their families, the loss of this critical income has devastating consequences. Local, state and federal lawmakers should make ending gender discrimination in pay and promotions a much higher priority."
According to the analysis, if the gap between men's and women's wages in the Phoenix area were eliminated, each full-time working woman could afford to pay for food for nearly one more year, buy 1800+ more gallons of gas, pay mortgage and utilities for five more months or pay rent for seven more months. These basic necessities would be particularly important for the nearly 62,000 women-headed households in the Phoenix area that currently live below the poverty level.
Nationally, women who hold full-time jobs are paid just 77 cents for every dollar paid to men who hold full-time jobs. African American women and Latinas fare worse, being paid 64 cents and just 55 cents, respectively, for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men. This wage gap has been closing at a rate of less than half a cent per year since passage of the Equal Pay Act in 1963. At that rate, it is estimated that women will not be paid equally for more than 40 years.
"Fifty years ago this year, the Equal Pay Act became law. Yet a punishing wage gap persists for women across the country," Ness continued. "We must do more to close the wage gap, which is present in every part of the country and every industry, and affects workers with every level of education. Congress and the president can and must do more. We are urging Congress to prioritize passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act and urging President Obama to take executive action to ensure that federal contractors do not discriminate in pay. It is past time the country finally make gender-based pay discrimination a thing of the past."
The Paycheck Fairness Act would close loopholes in the Equal Pay Act, help to break harmful patterns of wage discrimination, and establish stronger workplace protections for women; it was reintroduced in Congress in January. President Obama has been a vocal supporter of the bill, calling on Congress to pass it in his State of the Union address in February. Since then, the National Partnership and other advocates have urged the president to issue an executive order on fair pay, which would set an example for the nation's employers and help ensure that taxpayer dollars are not used to support discriminatory pay practices.
The National Partnership's research on the wage gap was released the day before Equal Pay Day – which marks how far into the new year women must work in order to catch up with what men were paid the year before. The analysis uses data from the U.S. Census Bureau and spans all 50 states and the country's 50 largest metropolitan areas. Reports for each locality, along with state rankings, are available at www.NationalPartnership.org/Gap.